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Sunday, August 19, 2012

The Eucharist and the Examined Life (Sunday 20.B)

Every Sunday this month we listen to Jesus teach
about his Body and Blood. These four passages from the sixth chapter of John’s
Gospel almost make summertime preaching a breeze, because it’s easy to talk
about how wonderful it is to receive the Bread of Life.

But Christian truth and Catholic faith are
never quite that simple. On the first Sunday of August, we heard the people listening to
Jesus respond “Sir, give us that bread always.” For the rest of the month, we
hear them complain. After their initial enthusiasm, the full impact of what
Jesus says about the Bread of Heaven becomes too hard to swallow. When this
cycle of readings ends next Sunday, you’ll see that many are driven away by
what Jesus taught.

It is not easy to look beyond the appearance
of bread and wine to see the Real Presence of Jesus. It’s the teaching that most
sets Catholics apart from other Christians: on this subject, we’re the true “fundamentalists,”
taking Jesus literally in all he says about his flesh and blood.

The great preacher Father Raniero Cantalamessa
asks a great question in connection with today’s readings: why not bread and water? That would certainly have pointed
to suffering, an important aspect of the Eucharist, which is united with
Christ’s sufferings and with ours.

But Jesus did something a bit less
obvious.Wine does indicate
suffering—the grapes are pressed, crushed as He was. But wine also represents
joy and celebration—as Father Cantalamessa says, we toast with wine, not
water.Yes, there’s pain in the
Eucharist—all the pain in the world.But
it is pain redeemed by Christ, something to rejoice over.

And by choosing wine in his infinite
wisdom, Jesus took a risk.Wine can be
abused.So can the Eucharist.There is no membership card required to enter
the Church, as the Mormons have.Only
the most public of sinners can be turned away by the priest. For the rest: it
is between the communicant and God. The responsibility is chiefly ours.

But what a grave responsibility! In his First
Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul warns that those who eat the bread or drink
the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner eat and drink judgment on themselves.
This is a very serious matter.

Wine is a wonderful thing; but if we abuse
it, we suffer mentally and physically.The Body and Blood of Christ is infinitely more wonderful; but if we
receive it thoughtlessly or unworthily, the consequences can be worse still.

This doesn’t mean we receive Communion
with fear.St. Paul simply says “Examine
yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

I suspect we have started to forget this
important truth.In the days when people
did not routinely receive every Sunday, or when they confessed every Saturday,
an examination of conscience came naturally.Now, perhaps we’ve all but forgotten the need to make a mental check
before receiving Communion.Is there a
grave sin that I have not confessed?If
there is, I should not receive.

Now this teaching must be understood
properly: if we have a genuine doubt that a certain sin was grave—perhaps there
was something to lessen our freedom or responsibility—we may still approach the
Lord’s Table.But the doubt should be
real, not just an excuse.

And I’m not suggesting that the middle of
Mass is the ideal time to judge whether we should be receiving the Eucharist.
Christian maturity requires regularly examining ourselves. “Lay aside
immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight,” our first reading says,
offering a simple formula for growth in the Christian life.

The way of insight requires
self-examination—not only as a preparation for Confession and Communion, but to
make wise decisions in daily life. As the great Socrates told the ancient
Greeks, “the unexamined life is not worth living.”

Receiving the Eucharist worthily requires
knowing ourselves. But even more, it requires knowing Jesus and accepting all
He has taught us about this great Sacrament. We must never take it for granted,
which is why the Church offers us this intense refresher course every three
years.

“This teaching is difficult,” some
disciples say to Jesus in next week’s Gospel. “Who can accept it?”

The answer, of course, is “we can.” We can
accept it if we live wisely and well, if we know ourselves and our calling, and
if we hear and accept exactly what Jesus teaches and promises in this
fundamental discourse on the Bread of Life.

But you haven’t been able to listen carefullyto Him
on these warm August Sundays, open your Bible at the sixth
chapter of John and read it through—someplace with air-conditioning!